August 2015
Mortgage: 34.09% (+0.16)
Emergency fund: 218.4% (-94.8 because we invested a bunch of stocks! Still…way too much cash for my liking….)
Stash (=EF + stocks): 18.18% (-0.97% due to loss of value in stocks)
Savings rate this month: 41% (Nice!)
Savings rate this year: 44% (Happy!)
Love,
Mrs EconoWiser
Woops, forgot to publish these!
July 2015
Mortgage: 33.93% (+0.15)
Emergency fund: 327.3% 313.2% (-14.1 because we invested a bunch)
Stash (=EF + stocks): 19.15% (+0.30%)
Savings rate this month: 47% (Almost 50%!!!)
Savings rate this year: 44% (hoorah!)
Lots of love,
Mrs EconoWiser
June 2015
Mortgage: 33.78% (+0.16)
Emergency fund: 327.3% (+19.8%)
Stash (=EF + stocks): 18.85% (+0.95%)
Savings rate this month: 61% (YAY!!! due to our annual tax return)
Savings rate this year: 44% (woot!!!)
Lots of love,
Mrs EconoWiser
We were thinking about our holiday(s) this year. We thought we’d rent a nice family cottage somewhere in The Netherlands. Then we started thinking about what we’d be doing all day. Well, with two kids under 18 months you’ll probably end up playing in and around the cottage, feeding them and putting them to sleep once in a while. So, why exactly do we want to pay top euros for such a deal? Hm….
We ditched that plan and decided to stay with close relatives who have a beautiful home which always reminds me of a holiday cottage and thus being on holiday when we stay there. Problem solved! How about that for a frugal holiday? And we’ll have free babysitters included in the deal. 😉
Next year I’d like to look into a home exchange. We don’t live in Amsterdam, which people in the home exchange scene seem to find very attractive. So I hope we’ll be able to find a match. I’d love to swap homes with a family in Great Britain. The hubby is very hesitant about this idea.
I think it’s a great idea. It’s frugal and fun. All these homes that are left empty while the owners are on holiday renting a very expensive temporary place to stay is a waste indeed.
Have you ever done a home exchange?
Lots of love,
Mrs EconoWiser
Februari 2015
Mortgage: 33.16% (0.16% increase)
Emergency fund: 302%
Stash (=EF + stocks): 16.49%
Savings rate this month: 32% (we had to pay taxes, the hubby bought a ticket for a music festival, we bought 4 safety gates for our stairs to protect the kid from falling down and prevent her from climbing up, we did a family photoshoot and we bought some stuff for the little boy who’ll be arriving shortly)
Savings rate this year: 30% (I am hoping for a 40% savings rate this year…but 50% would be awesome!)
Love,
Mrs EconoWiser
I really like personal finance guru Farnoosh Torabi. She started So Money podcasts and they’re great! I’ve listened to the ones with Mr. Money Mustache and J. Money. I love the questions she asks. It’s listening to PF great minds talking to each other as if having coffee together and casually throwing all these mindblowing philosophies into the equation. Yep, girlfriend got it going on!
I was very much inspired by J. Money’s Craigslist habit. I am going to incorporate that habit after having this baby. Our house is still stuffed with…stuff…which we can make money from.
Have fun listening to her podcasts. The next one I’m going to listen to is with Seth Godin.
Love,
Mrs EconoWiser
August 2014
Mortgage: 32.4 (0.22% increase)
Emergency fund: 396% (2% decrease, due to money going towards stocks)
Stash (=EF + stocks): 12.86% 12.07% (0.79% increase due to investments and the bullish stock market)
Income to spending ratio this month: 57% (yeah! Even with the husband going to a 3-day music festival and spending lots on drinks and food)
Income to spending ratio this year: 61% (<60% here we come!)
Love,
Mrs EconoWiser
July 2014
Mortgage: 32.18% (0.8% increase)
Emergency fund: 398% (57% increase….thanks to my windfall…we keep on throwing cash at our stocks on a monthly basis, but it will take a while before we get this down to 100%)
Stash: 12.07% (1.03% increase. FI, here we come! F-you money rocks!)
Income to spending ratio this month: 88% (we spent €1800 on a holiday home…since this will probably be my only holiday this year and we don’t want to take the baby camping just yet….sterilizing bottles without a microwave is a bitch….waahhhhhhwaaaaaaaahhhhhhh, yeah, we’re wussypants! And our irone throne (aka car) cost us €450 this month.) No, I did not include the windfall, since it doesn’t count as income.
Income to spending ratio this year: 62% (I’m not worried, we’ll get to <60% in 2014!)
Tomorrow, we’re off to our holiday home. Yeah!
Love,
Mrs EconoWiser
June 2014
Mortgage: 32.1% (0.3% increase)
Emergency fund: 341% (we keep on throwing cash at our stocks on a monthly basis, but it will take a while before we get this down to 100%)
Stash: 11.04% (0.27% increase. FI, here we come! F-you money rocks!)
Income to spending ratio this month: 67% (hm…where did that money go? We went to a music festival, got an indoor skiing membership for two months during the summer and bought lots of organic products like nappies and shower gel. That money wasn’t wasted from our point of view…however these expenses won’t help getting FI sooner…)
Income to spending ratio this year: 58% (Ow, yeah!!! <60% here we come!!!)
Love,
Mrs EconoWiser
Hi, I’m Mrs EconoWiser and I’m an addict. I’m addicted to this swapping website. Hi Mrs EconoWiser, welcome to Swapping Anonymous. 😉
Well, actually, I don’t need help in kicking this habit. It’s a very Mustachian habit, I presume. See, I’ve been swapping my ass off. 😉 I have swapped an old coffee machine, jewelry I don’t wear anymore, books, gifts that I had no use for and what not against stuff for the baby. I think we don’t have to spend another dime to dress her for the next year. Also, I have swapped against other baby stuff that we intended to buy anyway. See, I want to keep the house clear of clutter. This swapping website is great if you’re looking for kid’s stuff, since everybody seems to have piles of kiddy stuff lying around the house. And once they grow out of it, it’s just sitting there doing nothing.
People can post pictures of the things they want to swap and they can also make an album. So when you’re interested in something they can browse through the stuff you’re offering. You can also post a request for stuff you’re looking for.
This way, everybody wins. We don’t spend any money, new stuff stays at the store and we all get what we want in the end. Yay!
Have you found a local swapping initiative yet?
Love,
Mrs EconoWiser
EconoWiser 